We hope that you all had a good Labor Day and that it reminded you of what the labor movement has done to improve life for all workers in the United States. That work is not done, here at Temple and elsewhere, and we encourage you to get more involved with TAUP as we enter into a key moment in contract negotiations.
There are now fewer than 50 days before our contract expires on October 15th.
While the union has been working hard to provide analysis and suggest creative solutions, we still await a formal response from the administration on some of our most critical proposals. We expect to receive some responses next week; but, in the meantime, our negotiating team and other activists continue to work hard to achieve a fair contract.
The administration wants to remove program directors from the TAUP bargaining unit as well as academic professionals and to delete hard-fought long-term rights that members have had through the contract. These rights include the ability to grieve on the basis of discrimination and health and safety issues, just cause protections for tenure track faculty from dismissal, and support for union work. It is very clear that the administration is trying to weaken TAUP’s ability to advocate effectively for members of the bargaining unit.
To be as effective as we can be at the bargaining table, we need the voice and the energy of everybody in our bargaining unit. The union needs to become everyone’s priority. There are four things you can do to help.
- If you are not already a dues paying member join TAUP
- Join us in the room as we negotiate. RSVP for an upcoming open bargaining session.
- Come to the union’s General Membership Meeting on October 7th RSVP or organize a meeting with your colleagues and TAUP leaders by emailing taupaft@gmail.com
- Help out: join us in spreading information through fliers on campus, offer your unique skills (research, design, communications, etc.) to this effort.
Together, in solidarity, we represent a force. That is what will be necessary to come to terms with the administration on a contract that reflects the values of the members of TAUP’s bargaining unit: the faculty, librarians and academic professionals charged with the responsibility of educating the next generation of Temple students and generating new knowledge.